DF headphone calibration avoids conflicting HRTF localization cues that make FF sound unnatural

Evidence

Theile (1986) conducted formal listening tests and found the DF target to be preferred to the FF target that he claimed produced an unnatural timbre and in-head localization effects. The reason Theile argued is that natural hearing situations include both direct and reflected sounds from several directions. For the DF calibration sounds arrive equally from all directions, so there exists no directional or localization cues to conflict with our own FF HRTF. On the other hand, the FF headphone calibration is based on a single HRTF that most likely conflicts with our own and this highly directional cue will sound unnatural. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1764

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader psychoacoustics knowledge of head-related transfer functions and localization cues.